Lightning Beat the Islanders in Overtime, Again

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Tampa Bay Lightning teammates celebrate with defenseman Jason Garrison (5) after Garrison scored the winning goal against the New York Islanders during the overtime.CreditCreditFrank Franklin Ii/Associated Press

By Allan Kreda

May 6, 2016

The Islanders knew they would have to display verve on Friday, the same oomph they showed early in a Game 3 loss on Tuesday, when they peppered Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop with a barrage of pucks.

The pressure to again perform strongly on home ice was even more pronounced as the Islanders faced a series deficit in Game 4. And once again, the Islanders started strong — and faltered late.

After the Islanders scored early in the first period and the Lightning answered with a tying goal almost eight minutes into the third, the teams went to overtime for the second straight time at Barclays Center. For the Islanders, it was their fourth trip to overtime in five home games this postseason.

The Lightning won, 2-1, on a slap shot by defenseman Jason Garrison 1 minute 34 seconds into overtime and Tampa Bay took a commanding three-games-to-one lead in the series. Game 5 will be played Sunday afternoon.

“He’s got a bomb back there, that was a rocket,” Lightning Coach Jon Cooper said of Garrison’s winner, the earliest goal the Islanders have ever allowed in a playoff overtime.

The defeat left the Islanders disappointed but still heartened by their gutsy play in two hard-fought games at home against the Lightning’s prodigious offensive firepower.

“I have full confidence in this group and our ability to come back,” said left wing Matt Martin, who threw thundering checks throughout and finished with 10 hits.

The Islanders rushed at Bishop early and often, as they did when they poured 17 shots his way in the opening period on Tuesday. This time, the first period shot margin was 16 to 6 in favor of the Islanders, but Bishop again held them at bay when necessary.

Islanders Coach Jack Capuano applauded his team’s moxie despite the back-to-back defeats. His team lost Game 3, 5-4, on an overtime goal by the former Ranger Brian Boyle.

“I can’t ask for a better effort for the last six periods from our guys,” said Capuano, who chose not to criticize the officials after they missed an obvious high-stick infraction on Kyle Okposo by Garrison late in the third period. “Our team can only control what it can control.”

After Mike Blunden took a roughing penalty for the Lightning early in the first period, Okposo buried a wrist shot on the power play at 4:20, and the Islanders had a lead. Nikolay Kulemin and Frans Nielsen assisted on Okposo’s second goal of the playoffs.

That score held up until 7:49 of the third, when Nikita Kucherov flung the puck past Thomas Greiss, the Islanders’ goaltender, to tie the game. It was Kucherov’s league-leading eighth goal of the postseason, and it marked the second straight game in which he scored the tying goal in the third period. It gave the Lightning a buoyancy they had not exhibited through most of the first two-plus periods.

“Kuch is not a one-hit wonder,” Cooper said of his 22-year-old forward, who led the team in scoring this season. “He continues to amaze. We had a good feeling about what could happen, and it happened.”

The Islanders have scored with the man advantage in every game of the series thus far, although they squandered a four-minute power-play chance later in the first when the former Ranger Ryan Callahan was sent off for roughing. Still, they held a lead heading into the first and second intermissions.

“You can’t score one goal against this team and expect to win,” Capuano said. “But the last two games have been good hockey games. We have to regroup.”

At 1:33 of the second period, Greiss was forced to leave for what appeared to be a problem with his right skate blade. The backup goaltender Jean-Francois Berube was pressed into action for the first time in the playoffs with the Lightning on the power play.

Berube made two saves in a cameo appearance lasting 4:47, and left to loud cheers as Greiss returned.

The rest of the middle period was a cat-and-mouse contest as the Lightning had the better of play, but Greiss and the Islanders’ penalty killers snuffed out three Lightning power plays.

After the tight contest, Cooper was thankful his team had emerged from the last two games with victories.

“We have learned you get the other team’s ‘A’ game,” he said when asked about the challenge about closing out an opponent. “It’s a fluke they are where they are. We were very fortunate to come out of here with two wins.”

The pressure for the Islanders on Friday was clearly at a high level. The franchise had reached the second round of the postseason for the first time since 1993 and wanted to play longer, but after they dropped two games in overtime at home, the climb back looked awfully steep.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D6 of the New York edition with the headline: After Another Fast Start, Islanders Are Dealt Another Overtime Loss. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe